Wahshi: “Can You Hide Your Face From Me?”
Wahshi: "Can You Hide Your Face From Me?"
Wahshi: "Can You Hide Your Face From Me?"
Two travellers once came to the town of Hims, in Syria, looking for an old man. One of them, Ubaidullah bin Adi Al-Khaiyar, had a question he had carried for years. He said to his companion:
"Would you like to see Wahshi so that we may ask him about the killing of Hamza?"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Wahshi was living in Hims, and they were directed to him, sitting in the shade of his palace. They greeted him, and he returned the greeting. Ubaidullah's face was covered by his turban, so Wahshi could see only his eyes and his feet. Ubaidullah said:
"O Wahshi! Do you know me?"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Wahshi looked at him and said:
"No, by Allah!"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
But then he explained something remarkable. Long ago, in Mecca, he had once carried Ubaidullah as a small child, together with the child's mother, when he was looking for a wet nurse for him. All those years later, he remembered the child's feet:
"your feet resemble that child's feet."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Then Ubaidullah uncovered his face and asked his question:
"Will you tell us (the story of) the killing of Hamza?"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Wahshi agreed, and this is his account, in his own words. Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, had killed Tuaima bin Adi bin Al-Khaiyar at Badr. So Wahshi's master, Jubair bin Mut'im, made him an offer:
"If you kill Hamza in revenge for my uncle, then you will be set free."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Then came the battle of Uhud. Wahshi went out with the army, and when the two sides lined up, a man named Siba' stepped forward:
"Is there any (Muslim) to accept my challenge to a duel?"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib came out to meet him and answered him:
"Do you challenge Allah and His Apostle?"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
"Then Hamza attacked and killed him"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Wahshi, meanwhile, was waiting. He said:
"I hid myself under a rock"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
And when Hamza came near him, Wahshi threw his spear. The spear struck Hamza, and Hamza, the great lion of that battlefield, died. When the army returned to Mecca, Wahshi returned with them:
"When all the people returned to Mecca, I too returned with them."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
He stayed in Mecca until Islam spread in it, then left for Taif. When the people of Taif sent messengers to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Wahshi went with them, because he had been told something important:
"the Prophet (ﷺ) did not harm the messengers"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
"So I too went out with them till I reached Allah's Messenger."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
When he saw him, the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Are you Wahshi?"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Wahshi said, "Yes." The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Was it you who killed Hamza?"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Wahshi did not deny it, and he did not decorate it. He replied:
"What happened is what you have been told of."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Then the Prophet ﷺ said:
> «فَهَلْ تَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ تُغَيِّبَ وَجْهَكَ عَنِّي»
"Can you hide your face from me?"
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
So Wahshi went out. After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ died, a new enemy appeared:
"So I went out when Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) died, and Musailamah Al-Kadhdhab appeared (claiming to be a prophet)."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Musaylimah was a liar who claimed prophethood, and Wahshi made a decision about the same spear he had once used at Uhud. He said:
"I will go out to Musailamah so that I may kill him, and make amends for killing Hamza."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
He went out with the army. Then, suddenly:
"Suddenly I saw a man (i.e. Musailamah) standing near a gap in a wall."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
"He looked like an ash-colored camel and his hair was dishevelled."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
Wahshi threw his spear at him, and it struck him in the chest. Then:
"an Ansari man attacked him and struck him on the head with a sword."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
And Abdullah bin Umar added that a slave girl on a roof cried out:
"Alas! The chief of the believers (i.e. Musailamah) has been killed by a black slave."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4072
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🌿 Stop and Think About This Scene
Wahshi's whole life turned on one skill: his aim with a spear. That aim was once sold for a promise of freedom, and it took the life of Hamza. Years later, the same spear went out again — this time because Wahshi wanted, in his own words, to "make amends for killing Hamza." The past could not be undone, but the direction of a life can be changed.
Notice also his honesty. Asked directly by the Prophet ﷺ whether he had killed Hamza, he did not hide, deny or excuse himself: "What happened is what you have been told of."
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❤️ The Greatest Lesson
The greatest lesson of this story is that coming back is possible, and that making amends is something we do, not only something we feel. Wahshi could not bring Hamza back, and he could not erase Uhud. But he could stand truthfully before the Prophet ﷺ, accept what he had done, and spend his strength against the false prophet who rose after the Prophet's ﷺ death, pursuing amends with the very skill that had once been his shame.
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📚 Important Lessons From This Hadith
1. A terrible deed in a person's past does not stop him from coming to the truth: Wahshi travelled with the delegation of Taif and stood before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself.
2. When asked about our wrongs, we should answer as Wahshi answered — truthfully, without denial or decoration: "What happened is what you have been told of."
3. Regret becomes real when it turns into action. Wahshi's amends were not words only; he went out to face Musaylimah, saying, "I will go out to Musailamah so that I may kill him, and make amends for killing Hamza."
4. The grief of others matters. The Prophet ﷺ asked Wahshi, "Can you hide your face from me?" — when our actions have wounded someone, our very presence may reopen their pain.
5. The same ability can serve falsehood or truth. The spear thrown for a master's promise at Uhud was later thrown against a false prophet; what changed was the aim of the man who held it.
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🏠 How Can We Apply This Hadith in Our Daily Lives?
When we remember a wrong we have done, we can follow Wahshi's steps. First, stop hiding: admit it plainly, as he answered the Prophet ﷺ without excuses. Second, ask what amends are possible — an apology, returning what was taken, or repairing what was damaged. Third, be gentle with the feelings of the one we hurt; if our presence reopens their pain, give them space, as Wahshi went out after the Prophet ﷺ asked him to keep his face away. Finally, take whatever skill we once used in the wrong direction and aim it in the right one.
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🌹 The Most Beautiful Message
The most beautiful message is carried in one short sentence of Wahshi's: "and make amends for killing Hamza." A man remembered for the worst throw of his life refused to let that throw be the end of his story. He came to the Prophet ﷺ, told the truth, and then spent himself trying to balance the scale. The door Wahshi walked through — honesty and amends — is open to everyone who turns back.
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📖 Authentic Reference
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4072 — Chapter: The martyrdom of Hamza رضي الله عنه — Grade: Sahih — Sahih al-Bukhari 4072